Saturday, October 30, 2010

E. Victor Nickerson, a 6-7 small forward from Norcross, Ga., committed to play basketball for the 49ers today.

Nickerson chose the 49ers over Colorado, Georgia Southern, DePaul and Wichita State. Nickerson was ranked 30th at his position by rivals.com.

Nickerson averaged 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds for Norcross last season. He's one of four players on this season's team who will play Division I basketball.

"Charlotte runs an NBA-style pick and roll offense that appeals to me," said Nickerson in a statement. "Coach (Alan) Major has a good history of working with wings and I know he will help me develop on and off the court. I enjoyed my visits and really liked the diversity on the campus. I look forward to a great career at (Charlotte)."

Nickerson is Major's third commitment, joining big man Mike Thorne of Fayetteville and West Mecklenburg High shooting guard Terrence Williams. The 49ers are also pursuing point guard Elijah Carter of Brewster (N.H.) Academy.

Forsyth Country Day point guard Tyler Lewis's verbal commitment to N.C. State today put a dent in the 49ers' recruiting efforts this year. Lewis, who attended Charlotte's "Major Madness" last week, is the brother of 49ers walk-on guard Colby Lewis.

Charlotte's still in the hunt for Elijah Carter, a guard from Brewster (N.H.) Academy and small forward E. Victor Nickerson of Norcross, Ga.

The 49ers already have commitments from West Mecklenburg shooting guard Terrence Williams and Mike Thorne of Fayetteville.

Just spent some time with men's basketball coach Alan Major before Friday's practice. A few highlights:

-- Major said the most impressive player in the preseason had been forward K.J. Sherrill before he hurt his knee. "K.J. had a great summer and good early fall, so it's really unfortunate for him," said Major. "He was showing us a lot."

Sherrill, who had surgery on the knee earlier this week, is expected to miss 8-12 weeks.

-- Major said there's a silver lining to the absences of Sherrill and guard Charles Dewhurst (who's also out with a knee injury): "It's giving our other players more reps in practice. So they're getting a chance to get better a lot faster."

-- Point guard Jamar Briscoe (a transfer from N.C. Central) is starting to get a feel for his teammates. " 'Deuce' has had some good moments," said Major of Briscoe, who was a score-first point guard for the Eagles. "He's learning the game on this level. He was a volume guy; now he's an efficiency guy. He's not going to do what he did at Central, which is good because he's got more guys around him now."

-- The 49ers are four days away from a Tuesday exhibition against Queens in Halton Arena. The 49ers' season opener is at the unique time 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 12 against Gardner-Webb, followed by another game the next day against S.C. State.

"Yeah, it's kind of funny," said Major of the first weekend, which came about when the 49ers couldn't find a game for the weekend of Dec. 4 (their only open weekend of the pre-conference season aside from Christmas). "But it will get us ready for the Charleston tournament (Nov. 18-19 and 21)."

Charlotte plays George Mason in its Charleston opener, then will face either N.C. State or Georgetown the next day.

-- Major said there are no issues with forward Shamari Spears, who suggested on his Twitter account earlier this week that he was unhappy with Major. Major said Spears' father visited Spears one day last week, and there was confusion whether the senior forward would be at practice.

Charlotte’s men's soccer team, who have won seven straight, play two Atlantic 10 games at Transamerica Field this weekend (Saint Joseph’s at 7 tonight; Temple at 1 p.m. Sunday). The 49ers (10-4, 5-0) remain in first place in the conference. Fans bringing a canned good will be admitted free to the Temple game (sponsored by Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and Alpha Delta Pi sorority).

The 49ers' women (13-4, 6-1) can move into at least a tie for first place in the A-10 with a pair of victories this weekend at Saint Joseph’s (tonight) and Temple (Sunday). First-place Dayton (7-1 in the league) is at Xavier tonight.

Using data collected over a rolling four-year period the NCAA calculates an APR for every team in the country every year. A team can be penalized by having a score of of less than 925 (including losing scholarships or recruiting limitations).

Charlotte guard Shannon McCallum has been named to the Atlantic 10's preseason first-team all-conference team. The 49ers, who were 18-14 last season, were chosen to finish fourth in the conference in the preseason poll by a vote of the league's coaches.

McCallum, a senior from Whiteville, averaged 14.2 points and 2.8 assists last season. She was also made the league's preseason all-defensive first team.

Xavier, which has won two consecutive league titles, is the preseason favorite. The Musketeers are followed by Dayton, Temple, Charlotte, Richmond, Duquesne, Saint Joseph's, St. Bonaventure, George Washington, Saint Louis, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Fordham and La Salle.

-- They've been replaced on the roster by walk-ons Raymond Morgenstern and Lamar Bradbury, who both look like they're guards.

-- The 49ers practiced today in Belk Gym, which isn't air conditioned. That was really apparent on a stuffy Tuesday afternoon.

-- Aside from Dewhurst and Sherrill, everybody else on the team was at practice.

-- Charlotte's men's soccer team is ranked 16th in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. The first-place 49ers (10-4, 5-0 Atlantic 10) play Saint Joseph's at Transamerica Field on Friday. The Soccer America magazine poll -- a tougher ranking to crack -- will be released later today.

The Charlotte 49ers women’s basketball program will hold their first annual Eureka Club tip-off potluck dinner, Tuesday, October 26 at 6 pm in the Food Court of the Barnhardt Student Activities Center. The dinner is for only Eureka Club members.

The event is a way for the members of the 49ers women’s basketball program’s booster club, The Eureka Club, to meet the 2010-11 team and coaching staff before the season starts. It is also a way for the women’s basketball team to show their appreciation to the Eureka Club members for their support.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Charlotte senior guard Charles Dewhurst is out for four-to-seven weeks with a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. Dewhurst, who hurt the knee in practice last week, had just rejoined the team after graduating in May. He has another year of eligibility remaining.

On that timetable, Dewhurst could be back as soon as the 49ers' appearance in the Charleston Classic Nov. 18-21 or as late as Charlotte's game Dec. 11 at Davidson.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Charlotte 49ers have added another home men's basketball 2010-2011 schedule. Charlotte will now host Gardner-Webb at 4 p.m. Nov. 12 at Halton Arena.

In addition, the 49ers have moved their home preseason exhibition game with Queens to Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.

The change gives Charlotte 15 home games, including the exhibition, and a full regular-season slate. UNC Charlotte faculty and staff members will be eligible to pick-up four free tickets to the Gardner-Webb game while single game tickets will be $5 each.

Charlotte opens the season on Thursday at 9 p.m. with its annual "Major Madness" celebration. On Saturday, the 49ers will host a Basketball Fan Day. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. with scrimmages by both the men’s and women’s team to start at 3 p.m.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Guard Charles Dewhurst, who returned to the Charlotte basketball team last week, "tweaked" his knee recently in practice and is having an MRI done Wednesday.

Coach Alan Major said he didn't know how severely Dewhurst's knee is injured. Dewhurst was at the team's media day Tuesday and appeared to walk without a limp.

Dewhurst, who graduated in May, will be a grad student this fall. He decided over the summer he wasn't finished playing basketball. He spent significant amounts of time sidelined with injuries his freshman and sophomore seasons.

"It's tough because he made the effort to come back out," said Major. "We're hoping it's nothing too bad."

-- Major said there's no word yet on the pending eligibility of freshman guard Luke Voncina. The NCAA is reviewing Voncina's academic credits from his school in Slovenia. Voncina is expected to compete for playing time in the backcourt with transfer Jamar Briscoe and Derrio Green.

Monday, October 18, 2010

-- As the 49ers continue to roll out opponents for the first football season of 2013, don't expect the names to get too big. There will be no "guarantee" road games at big-time FBS teams that season, or for 2014, for that matter. So if you're hearing that Charlotte will play at places like Tennessee, Georgia or Virginia Tech, don't believe it.

Games like that (in which teams like Charlotte can be paid as much as $400,000) might come later, in fact they most certainly will. But not in the first two seasons. 49ers officials think Georgia State is crazy for playing Alabama in November in the final game of the Panthers' first season.

Most first-year programs aren't playing guarantee games, at least not for a while. South Alabama, which is playing its first full season of football this year, will play teams like LSU, Oklahoma State and Navy in the future.

Last week's news that the 49ers will play Gardner-Webb brings to four the number of games scheduled for the first football season. All four teams -- the Bulldogs, Charleston Southern, Morehead State and Campbell -- are NCAA Football Championship Subdivision teams (the latter two non-scholarship Pioneer League programs).

-- While we're on football, let's put some early pressure on that first team. Georgia State, which is 5-2 already, has beaten Morehead State and Campbell, so why shouldn't the 49ers be able to do that?

-- The men's basketball program got good news last week when guard Charles Dewhurst's return to the team was finalized. Dewhurst, who graduated in May, has another year of eligibity left and is in grad school at UNCC this year.

Dewhurst was behind the rest of the team in his conditioning and early knowledge of new coach Alan Major's system. Major had to be convinced that Dewhurst was back in shape and was picking up the new system before adding him to the roster.

The basketball teams began practice on Friday. It's media day on Tuesday and "Major Madness" is Thursday at 9 p.m. at Halton Arena. And Fan Day is at 3 p.m. Saturday.

-- This is shaping up to be a memorable year for the 49ers' men's and women's soccer teams. The men (9-4, 4-0) are in first place in the Atlantic 10 and the women (12-4, 5-1) trail only Dayton in the league standings.

Andres Cuero continues to shine for the men, who are ranked 23rd in this week's NSCAA poll. He's the A-10's player of the week, thanks to game-winning goals against George Washington and Richmond last week. He's been clutch all season: He had a game-winner against Clemson earlier.

The 49ers, who finish their regular season with five consecutive home games (beginning Friday against Saint Louis) have positioned themselves well. A quick start in the league was crucial because only six teams of the league's 14 teams qualify for the conference tournament, which is scheduled for Nov. 11-12 and 14 at Charlotte's Transamerica Field.

-- Things are going nearly as well for coach John Cullen's women's team. It's too bad the 49ers don't face Dayton in the regular-season, though. That will have to wait for the league tournament the first week of November at Rhode Island.

Whitney Weinraub, who isn't having her best season statistically, finally tied the school goals record when she scored the 36th of her career last week against George Washington. She can break the record Saturday against Saint Louis at Transamerica Field.

-- Baseball's Green team took a 2-1 lead on the White team in the 49ers' fall practice "World Series" last weekend. Games 4 and 5 are this coming weekend, which will complete fall practice. The 49ers had to practice for a while at North Mecklenburg High while reseeding took place at Hayes Stadium.

Highlights of Charlotte's fall classic: Corey Shaylor and Ross Steedley had RBI singles in the Green's 3-0 victory in Game 1; freshman Tyler Barnette (who was drafted by the Boston Red Sox but elected to play for the 49ers, allowed one run on six hits and three strikeouts in 4.2 innings for the Whites in Game 2; Jim Lyerly's RBI single won Game 3 for the Greens.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Charlotte 49ers have added a second home contest to the 2013 schedule. Charlotte will host Gardner-Webb on Oct. 5, 2013, at the 49ers' on-campus 15,000-seat football stadium, which is due to break ground in May. The 49ers will return a visit to Gardner-Webb on Oct. 4, 2014.

This is the fourth home-and-home series the 49ers have scheduled for their inaugural first two seasons, with two of the series starting at home and two opening on the road.

Here's how the 49ers' first two season schedules are shaping up so far:

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Charlotte 49ers finished third at Duke's Rod Myers Invitational golf tournament with an even-par 288 on the final day. Iowa won with a three-day 851 total, followed by N.C. State at 856 and Charlotte at 860. Michigan (861) and Duke (866) rounded out the top five.

N.C. State freshman Albin Choi won his second individual title in the past six days with a one-stroke victory. He shot a 1-under 71 Monday and finished with a 5-under 211 total. Choi also won the Wolfpack Intercollegiate by one shot last Tuesday.

Olafur Loftsson and Will Golden led the 49ers with even-par 216 totals, which tied for 13th place.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

The 49ers have a deal with Coca-Cola to promote the school's new football program.

Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated has designed a standup image of 49ers mascot Norm The Niner in the Heisman Trophy pose. It will be part of a 49ers-Coke display at selected Charlotte-area retailers. The displays will go into stores later this month and November.

Coca-Cola will also have a special 49ers T-shirt giveaway with the purchase of Coke products at Outtakes locations on the UNC Charlotte campus.

Monday, October 4, 2010

The 49ers' men's and women's basketball teams -- along with coaches Alan Major and Karen Aston -- will be on the Square uptown (the corner of Trade and Tryon) Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for the 49ers' Uptown Tipoff.

Joining the teams and coaches will be cheerleaders, Gold Duster dancers, the basketball band and Norm the Niner.

-- Soccer player Andres Cuero, who scored twice against Clemson in a 2-1 double-overtime victory last week, was named to College Soccer News' national team of the week.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

-- Jonna Handra's goal gave Charlotte's women's soccer team a 1-0 victory at Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon as the 49ers continued their regular-season dominance in the A-10. The 49ers are 9-3 overall and 2-0 in the league after winning at UMass on Friday.

-- The men's 1-0 victory against Furman on Saturday night sends them in to league play with a 5-4 record. Charlotte is at St. Bonaventure on Friday, then goes to Duquesne on Sunday.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

The 49ers' women's soccer team -- which is still on the road -- got its Atlantic 10 season off to a strong start with a 2-0 victory against Massachusetts on Friday.

Next up for Charlotte (8-3, 1-0) is a game Sunday at Rhode Island.

The 49ers continue to shine in conference play. They're 21-0-2 in regular-season league games in the past two-plus seasons.

Charlotte's game Sunday against the Rams will be their sixth straight on the road. They're 4-1 so far. The 49ers return to Transamerica Field next weekend with games against St. Bonaventure and Duquesne.

-- Charlotte's Kat Hicks (16 kills, 10 digs) and Bianca Rouse (12 and 10) had double-doubles in a close lost to defending A-10 champ Saint Louis on Friday at Halton Arena. Charlotte is 9-8 and 0-2 in the league.

-- Strong showings by both cross-country teams in the Charlotte Invitational Friday at McAlpine Greenway Park. The women finished fourth, the men fourth. Laura McCary (10th) and Ross Roberson (15th) paced each team.